The Screentrix
by Marc K
Summary: Rio, a lowly computer hacker/TV lover finds that all his favorite shows are actually another world..
1. Chat Room

We find ourselves in a man's house, or, actually, his apartment room.  
It is completely dark, except for the beaming light coming from his computer screen. He is sitting there, typing like a mindless drone. It is well past midnight, and though he is tired, he won't allow himself to go to  
sleep. There are bags under his red eyes, as Duran Duran's debut album, "Duran Duran", is playing from his computer's built-in CD Player. We see  
that he is in a chat room..  
  
Jake344 i looked everywhere, i cant find the screentrix  
nevermore dude I think its a myth  
Jake344 lol  
can'tbebothered I found the Screentrix  
nevermore pfffft  
nevermore proof?  
can'tbebothered I forgot the link  
can'tbebothered I took a picture of it but I don't have a scanner  
ModeratorDeathcow Yeah?  
ModeratorDeathcow Bullshit.  
*can'tbebothered has been booted from the room*  
nevermore AHAHAAHAHAHA  
Jake344 lol!  
nevermore Deathcow *  
  
And then, the man types...  
  
Rio Why didn't you just hear him out?  
ModeratorDeathcow It's obvious he was lying. Everybody has a scanner.  
Rio o_O  
  
All of a sudden, Rio's computer completely freezes up. He tries to move the  
mouse, but the cursor won't budge. He presses Ctrl+Alt+Del, nothing. He  
presses Esc multiple times, still nothing. So, he goes to turn off his  
computer, but before he can, the screen goes completely black.  
  
Stop, Rio.  
  
Rio: What the hell..  
  
The Screentrix has you.  
  
Rio tries to turn off the computer, but the text remains. So, he tries to ignore it. He turns on the TV, only to find the text sprawled out against  
it as well.  
  
You cannot escape the truth, Rio.  
  
Rio: AHHHH!!!!  
  
Rio dashes to his bed and pulls the blanket over him. He starts shaking in  
fear, as he looks back at the computer, hesitatingly, seeing..  
  
Wake up, Rio.  
Knock, knock.  
  
All of a sudden, the door knocks, startling Rio and making him jump out of  
bed.  
  
Follow the white rapper.  
  
The computer and TV then automatically turn off, as yelling is heard from  
the other side of the door.  
  
Voice: Dude! It's Troy!  
  
Rio walks over to the door, and opens it up. Troy is seen standing there, a  
woman in his arms and 2 of his friends behind him hitting eachother's  
forearm, in some sort of stupid contest.  
  
Rio: You got the money?  
  
Troy: All 50 smackers, bro!  
  
Rio reaches onto his bookshelf, and grabs a Sopranos: Season 1 Episode Listing. He opens it up, locating an indent in the book. He pulls out a VHS  
tape, and hands it to Troy.  
  
Troy: Thanks dude. I got kind've sidetracked after Chandler dumped Monica,  
so I couldn't watch Friends for a while. Anyways, thanks again.  
  
Rio: Ugh...yeah, whatever..  
  
Rio's eyes are still fairly closed, largely due to the comparison of his  
dark room and the illuminated hallway.  
  
Troy: Hey man, you look a little stressed out. What do you think DuHour?  
  
DuHour(his girlfriend): Definitely...  
  
Troy: Should we take him to the club?  
  
DuHour: Definitely..  
  
Troy: Alright. You sure?  
  
DuHour: Definitely...  
  
Troy: Alright Rio, you better get ready. Your hair looks kind've fucked up.  
  
Rio: Um...thanks.... 


	2. The Producers

So, Rio walks into the bathroom to get ready, as we cut to an abandoned building--well, almost abandoned. Four police officers are walking through a hallway, with flashlights and guns in their hands, in the classic cross formation. They get to room 330, and one of them kicks the door down. He goes in with the rest of them, and there is a woman in leather sitting, on  
a computer, with only a chair, a table and the computer in the room.  
  
Cop: POLICE! FREEZE! Hands on your head, now!  
  
The woman slowly puts her hands behind her head, as we cut outside, where a red Lambourghini pulls up. A group of policemen are standing there, waiting for anything to happen, as the car stops, and 2 men step out. They are both  
wearing glasses, t-shirts, and fairly dorky pants, as well as holding a clipboard and headsets on their heads to communicate with god knows who.  
The lieutenant notices nametags on their shirts, reading "Berman" and "Mason". Mason writes down something on his clipboard, as Berman clips his  
to his shirt pocket, and approaches the lieutenant.  
  
Berman: Hey uh, lieutenant.  
  
Lieutenant: Oh shit..  
  
The lieutenant hesitatingly walks over to Berman.  
  
Berman: Lieutenant, sorry, but uh, you were given specific orders and  
stuff.  
  
Lieutenant: Look, I'm just doing my job, alright? I'm not even sure why the  
hell we're doing this.[/COLOR]  
  
Mason: I think she's a hacker or something.  
  
Berman nods, and motions towards the building the woman is in. Mason clips  
his clipboard to his shirt pocket, and they start walking towards the  
building.  
  
Lieutenant: I sent in two units already. They should be bringing her out  
any minute.  
  
Berman: Nah, your men are probably already dead, Lieutenant.  
  
We cut back inside, where the cops have cuffed the woman. They take her out  
into the hallway, where she walks along with the cops. However, after a while, she jumps up onto the wall, and springs off, kicking 2 of them in the head! The other 2 pull out their guns, but she kicks one of the guns away, sending it flying, and clonking the other cop in the head! She then kicks the last cop standing in the nuts, bending him over, and then hops onto his back, sending him crashing to the ground! The woman then tries her best to search through all the pockets of the cops, and eventually finds the key. She uses her limited hand freeness, and, soon enough, unlocks the  
handcuffs. She drops them to the ground, and stretches her wrists. Back  
outside, Berman & Mason decide to split up, as Mason heads inside, and Berman walks towards the alley nearby. Meanwhile, the woman is on her cell  
phone, and a man answers..  
  
Voice: Director.  
  
Woman: Frilbeus, the line was traced somehow.  
  
Frilbeus(Voice): I know. The hardscreen was cut. It's not a viable exit.  
  
Woman: Are there any Producers?  
  
Frilbeus: ....Yes.  
  
Woman: Damnit..  
  
Frilbeus: You have to focus. There's a screen. Bells And Rake, back of the  
old mattress shop. You can make it.  
  
The woman takes a deep breath..  
  
Woman: Alright..  
  
Frilbeus: Go.  
  
The woman discards the phone, and looks over, seeing Mason leading some more police. She then runs to the opposite end, and jumps through a window, shattering it. She uncomfortably lands on the metal fire escape, and sees Berman in the alley. She runs up the fire escape and gets to the roof, just as Mason and the cops go through the broken window. She runs and, without much effort, jumps to another roof, just as Mason and the cops get up there as well. They pick up their speed as best as they can, and they get to the  
roof that the woman jumped to. They try to as well, and Mason does it  
easily, as well as 4 of the other cops, while the 5th one isn't so lucky..they continue to hop along rooftops, Mason picking up speed and not losing an inch of it with each jump. They run along a particularly rusted roof, the cops, Mason and the woman, and the woman picks up speed, reaching an unbelievably long gap, about 40 feet or so. She just keeps on running,  
and jumps...  
  
Landing.  
  
Most of the cops stop in their tracks, but one of them and Mason continue running, and they reach the gap. Mason jumps and lands even smoother than  
the woman, but the cop...well..lands on the dumpster 20 feet down. The woman hides behind a pillar, and pulls out a gun, as does Mason. He starts walking calmly towards her, as she sees a window about 10 feet away. She dashes towards it, as Mason fires off shots at her. She does a somersault to avoid them, and dives head first through the window, landing on a set of stairs, and rolling down, landing on her back. She points her gun towards  
the window..  
  
Woman: Come on Finity...get up...GET UP, DAMN YOU!  
  
The woman, now revealed as Finity, looks around, and sees a door, with a  
window over it. She sees, through the window, a broken and trashed sign  
that says "T e Mat r ss to e". She puts 2 and 2 together, figuring out that it's supposed to say "The Mattress Store". She sees 2 street signs as well, reading Bells, and Rake. She gets up and dashes through the door, and sees, to her left, a large garbage truck, the headlights beaming. She looks  
in the driver's seat and sees....Berman. She races towards the mattress store, as does he. He takes a turn towards it and crashes into the wall, ripping through it, just seconds after she enters via the door. She looks around, and spots a TV. She reaches into her pocket, taking out a remote control, as Berman races towards the screen. She dives towards the TV and turns it on, and changes it to channel 4440, as she literally disappears, along with the remote, just as Berman crashes into the screen. He gets out, unharmed, and looks around, finding no Finity, only mattresses, pillows and such. All of a sudden, a man that looks just like him, wearing a nametag  
reading "Hughes", walks up.  
  
Hughes: So the informant is, like real and stuff.  
  
Berman: Does that, like, surprise you or something? It was inevitable.  
  
Hughes: He'll probably be contacting us again.  
  
Berman: You should, like, expect it. Did ya get any stuff from the room?  
  
Hughes: The next target. His name is, like, Rio.  
  
Berman: We should get a search running or something.  
  
Hughes: It's already, like, begun. 


	3. Whoa™

Meanwhile, back at Rio's apartment, he has finished taking a shower, so he  
dries himself, changes, slicks up his hair for no apparent reason, and  
leaves, closing the door behind him. Unfortunately, with the elevator broken and him being on the 10th floor, it takes a hell of a long time to  
get to the 1st floor. He leaves, to find Troy, DuHour and his 2 idiot  
friends in a car, ready to take off.  
  
Troy: Dude, what took ya!  
  
Rio: Meh.  
  
Rio jumps into the car, as Troy drives off, blaring the Ally McBeal soundtrack, the rockingest album of the year, I tells ya. Anyway, they get to the club, entitled "The Cat's Shitpile", and they walk in. Troy & DuHour  
start dancing, while the 2 friends just punch eachother, acting like  
idiots. Rio walks over to the bar.  
  
Bartender: What'll ya have?  
  
Rio: Milk...chocolate.  
  
The bartender whips up a chocolate milk, and slides it down to Rio, who catches it, discovering a cute little umbrella and twirly straw. He sips  
out of it, as a familiar woman walks up..  
  
Finity: Hello, Rio.  
  
Rio: What? How do you know that name? And who are you?  
  
Finity: I know a lot more about you than you might think, Rio. I've been  
wanting to meet you for a while now.  
  
Rio: You didn't answer my second question. Who are you?  
  
Finity: Me? My name is Finity.  
  
Rio: Wait..Finity? THE Finity? The Finity that cracked the IMDb D-Base?  
  
Finity: That was a long time ago.  
  
Rio: Whoa..  
  
Finity: What?  
  
Rio: I just..kind've always thought you were a lesbian.  
  
Finity: Heh. Most guys do.  
  
Rio: Um..do you want to go outside and talk or something?  
  
Finity: No. It's safe enough here. Besides, I don't have much time.  
  
Rio: Wait...was that you on my computer? And my TV?  
  
Finity: ...Yes.  
  
Rio: How did you do that? My friend did that once, but it didn't work as  
well as this did.  
  
Finity: That's not important right now. What is important is that you are  
in danger, Rio. I brought you here to warn you.  
  
Rio: Of what?  
  
Finity: They've got their eye on you, Rio.  
  
Rio: What? Who does?  
  
Finity: Please. Just listen. I know why you're here, Rio. I know why you left your family and your friends, why you left your home to come to this city. You're looking for him. I know, because I was looking for the same thing, but when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I  
was looking for an answer. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, as I did. It is a TV-holic's, and hacker's, question.  
  
Rio: ....What is the Screentrix..  
  
Finity: When I asked him, he told me no one could be told the answer to that question. They have to see it to believe it. The truth is out there,  
Rio.  
  
Rio: Hey, I know we're both big TV fans, but you don't have to quote X-  
Files.  
  
Finity: Well...in any case, it is out there. And it will find you, when you  
find it.  
  
Finity then backs up, into the crowd of dancing partiers, and seems to  
disappear among the bodies. Rio seems to be in a trance, as the next  
morning..  
  
*RIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG* 


	4. Mr Landerman

Rio's alarm clock rings like a bitch, and he gets up, cursing, and notices that it's 7:28, when he was supposed to be at work at 7. He quickly changes and rushes out the door, as we cut to Logico, a computer company, where Rio is seen in an important-looking office, standing in front of a desk holding  
a suitcase. We see that the name plaque thing on the desk says "R. Dinefarte", as well as the man behind it, obviously Dinefarte. Meanwhile, 2 men are standing outside on one of those plank things, washing the windows  
with squeegees they bought at Costco for $4.96.  
  
Dinefarte: You appear to have a problem with authority, Mr. Landerman. You think you're special, that you have a gift, that somehow you don't have to follow the rules...obviously, you are mistaken. This company is one of the  
largest software companies on the planet, because every single employee realises they are part of a whole, that they aren't carrying the company by themselves. Thus, if an employee has a problem, the company has a problem.  
The time has come to choose, Mr. Landerman. Either you choose to arrive here every day on time from now on, or you lose your job. Do I make myself  
clear?  
  
Rio: Yes, Mr. Dinefarte. Crystal.  
  
A few minutes later, Rio is seen in his cubicle, which is barely large  
enough to hold about 5 people, and that's if they were about 50 pounds.  
Anyway, Rio slumps into his chair and thinks about his life, as..  
  
Man: Matthew Landerman?  
  
Rio spins around in is twirling chair, to find a Fedex guy holding a  
package.  
  
NOTE: I had a somewhat cheap joke that went a bit like "holding a package..oh, and he has a box too", but I decided not to use it. You should  
be grateful.  
  
Rio: Yeah, that's me...  
  
The fedex guy hands him the box and a clipboard to sign. Rio does so, and  
the Fedex guy leaves. Rio opens up the package, which contains a 2-way walkie talkie. All of a sudden, that familiar "krsh" sound comes on, and a  
voice is heard. We, the people, recognize the voice as Frilbeus..  
  
Frilbeus: Hello, Rio. Do you know who this is?  
  
Rio: .....Frilbeus...?  
  
Frilbeus: I've been trying to find you, Rio. I don't know if you're quite  
ready to see what I will soon show you, but unfortunately, we have no choice. They're coming for you, Rio. And I'm not quite sure what they're  
going to do to you.  
  
Rio: What? Who's coming for me?  
  
Frilbeus: Stand up and see for yourself.  
  
Rio: Wait, right now?  
  
Frilbeus: Yes, now.  
  
Rio starts to stand up, but Frilbeus stops him.  
  
Frilbeus: Do it slowly. The elevator.  
  
[COLOR=orangered]Rio then slowly stands up the rest of the way and looks towards the elevator, finding Mason and Hughes standing there, with about 5 cops behind them. They approach the receptionist and speak to her, as she  
points them to Neo's cubicle, and he quickly lowers his head.  
  
Rio: Holy shit!  
  
Frilbeus: Yes.  
  
One of the cops stays at the elevator, and the other 4 follow Mason &  
Hughes towards the cubicles.  
  
Rio: What do they want with me?!?  
  
Frilbeus: I'm not quite sure yet, but if you don't want to find out, you  
better get out of there.  
  
Rio: WHAT?! HOW?!  
  
Frilbeus: I can tell you how, but you have to do exactly as I say, and  
carefully.  
  
Mason & Hughes pick up speed somewhat..  
  
Frilbeus: The cubicle across from you is empty.  
  
Rio: But what if they--  
  
Frilbeus: Go! NOW!  
  
[Rio, crouching as low as he can, rushes over to the cubicle across from him, just as Mason & Hughes turn towards his row. Rio crams himself into a  
corner so they can't see him, as Frilbeus speaks again.  
  
Frilbeus: Stay there for now..  
  
Mason, Hughes and the cops enter Rio's cubicle, to find, of course,  
nothing. Mason motions towards the bathroom, figuring Rio might've gone  
there to take a tinkle. One of the cops goes over there.  
  
Frilbeus: Just a little longer..  
  
Mason talks to another passer-by worker.  
  
Frilbeus: When I tell you, go to the end of the row to the first office on  
the left, and stay as low as you can.  
  
A few seconds pass...  
  
Frilbeus: NOW!  
  
Rio dives out of the cubicle, and nearly crashes into a cop who had just turned around. Actually, he does crash into him, sending him falling to the ground. Fortunately, it doesn't make much noise due to the carpet floor,  
and he got knocked out as well. Rio rushes down the row, and eventually  
reaches his target. He rolls in and closes the door, breathing heavily.  
  
Frilbeus: Good. Now, look around. There is a window. Open it.  
  
Rio, though somewhat confused, does so.  
  
Frilbeus: There's an emergency ladder outside. You can use it to get to the  
roof.  
  
Rio: WHAT?!?!?!?!  
  
Frilbeus: There's a ledge just outside the window. You can make it.  
  
Rio peers out the window, frightened to say the least.  
  
Rio: I can't do this! This is crazy!  
  
Frilbeus: It really is simple, Rio. You either leave this building via the  
scaffolding, or in their custody. It is your choice  
  
Frilbeus, deciding to be extremely mysterious and mean, hangs up.  
  
Rio: Son of a bitch...why is this happening to me? Of all people, why me?  
God damnit..  
  
Rio then eventually decides to take the suggested way out, and gets onto the window ledge. His palms get sweaty, and, thus, the walkie talkie falls all the way down 40 stories to the hard street..well, actually, it lands on a guy walking by, causing him to fall over, before getting run over by a biker, who gets tripped up, getting the bike knocked into traffic, through  
a car window, hitting a proud father who's taking his son to baseball practice in the head, knocking him over, into the kid's head knocking him out as well, and landing in the kid's lap. A cop in the lane next to him  
feels suspicious, so he gets out, opens their door, to find, well, you  
know.  
  
Cop: Sir, you're under arrest for child molestation.  
  
The cop then hauls the man into his squad car, leaving the kid and the car in traffic. Erm...meanwhile, Rio looks at all the havoc he's caused, and decides to continue on anyway. He comes to a pillar sticking out, and tries to get around it, but decides against it, and quickly makes his way back into the office. All of a sudden, Mason & Hughes, flanked by 3 cops, come  
in, all pointing guns at Rio.  
  
Rio: What the hell did I do?!? 


	5. In The White Room With No Black Curtains

A few minutes later, Mason & Hughes are seen bringing Rio outside, in handcuffs. They put him into a dark, very FBI-ish car, as Mason gets in the  
driver's seat, Hughes in the passenger's. Meanwhile, in front of them,  
Finity is seen on a motorcycle.  
  
Finity: Son of a bitch..  
  
We find ourselves in a very white room(but no black curtains, har har),  
where Rio is sitting at an equally colored table. He notices a security camera in the corner, so he decides not to do anything funny; such as get naked and hump the table while eating an apple. Anyhow, the door eventually opens, as Mason & Hughes come in, followed by Berman. Mason & Hughes stand by the door, guarding, as Berman takes a seat opposite Rio. He pulls out his clipboard, which has a file attached to it. Rio glances at it, and sees  
that it has the words "Matthew J. Landerman" on it.  
  
Berman: You know, as you con probably, like, see, we've had our eye on you  
for a pretty long time now I think, Mr. Landerman.  
  
Berman opens the file, and looks through the pages.  
  
Berman: It looks like you've been living, like, 2 lives or something. In  
one, you are Matthew J. Landerman, software programmer for a kinda  
respectable like company. I'm pretty sure you have a social security  
number, you pay your taxes, and you help your landlady carry out her garbage, and stuff. The other life is lived in like, computers, where you go by the hacker alias Rio and go to many TV forums, such as Star Trek and  
Big Brother.  
  
Berman closes the file.  
  
Berman: I'm gonna be as, like, forthcoming as I can be, Mr. Landerman  
  
Berman takes off his glasses, but then realises he needs them to really see  
Rio, so he puts them back on.  
  
Berman: We, like, know that you have spoken to a man named Frilbeus, or  
something. Whatever you think you know about him doesn't really, like,  
matter, because he's wanted for more acts of terrorism than, like, any  
other guy on the planet. He's known by many of us as like the most dangerous guy alive. My friends over there think I'm wasting my time with  
you but I think you want to do the good thing, man. It's pretty obvious that you're a smart guy, and that you're, like, interested in the future and stuff. That's why I think you're ready to put your mistakes all behind you and like get on with your life and all that, you know? We're willing to wipe the slate clean, to give you like a new fresh start all we want from  
you is your help in bringing this guy into justice and stuff.  
  
Rio nods.  
  
Rio: Hmm..that sounds like a pretty good deal. But how about this one: I  
give you a singer...  
  
All of a sudden, Celine Dion busts in and starts singing.  
  
Celine Dion: My heart wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii--  
  
[Before Celine can finish, Hughes shoots her in the head, and Mason gives him a highfive, and they toss her out of the room, closing the door as they  
do.  
  
Rio: ..And you give me my phone call?  
  
Berman: Ah, but, like, Mr. Landerman, what good is a phone call, if you  
can't like, speak, you know?  
  
Rio gets a strange look on his face, as Mason pulls some duct tape out of his pocket. He then walks over to Rio and tapes his mouth shut. Rio starts screaming, but to no avail. He starts to run away, but Hughes runs over and  
Mason duct tapes his hands to the back of the chair.  
  
Berman: You're, like, gonna help us, whether you want to or not, Mr.  
Landerman, ok?  
  
Berman nods to Mason & Hughes, who rip open Rio's shirt. Berman walks over and pulls what looks like a TV antenna out of his pocket; it then slowly changes into 2 worms conjoined at the waist(if they even have waists). Rio screams, as Berman drops it(them?) onto his stomach and they crawl into his navel. He screams more, as one half pops out...Berman has a frightened look  
on his face for a second, before jamming the worm back in again.  
  
Rio: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! 


End file.
